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Crusaders was originally supposed to support up to four players battling it out with their own personal armies, but was cut down to two to reach an already long delayed release date. Heroes has kept that promise and done two better, supporting up to six players to create some truly hectic warfare in friendly or ladder matches. Friendly allows you to choose your allies and opponents, and earn both gold and experience to better your starting troops. Ladder matches don't grant any gold or exp, but the outcome will mark your place of glory on the online scoreboard. You really need to know your game before you head out online where you won't have the luxury of sitting back and planning out your moves, though it's always fun to shout "I can see you!" and watch your opponent panic even when they're really outside your range of vision.
Dreaming of a True Sequel
The downside to Heroes being just an expansion is nearly all the problems from Crusaders have been carried over. Most frustrating to me is the inability to properly command support units. These are easily torn apart by all too common enemy archers, but keeping them clear of those while strafing other targets usually isn't worth the effort. Another problem is the missions can sometimes run over an hour, and sometimes I just don't have the time for it, where a mid-mission save that's automatically erased after loading would be most welcome. Also retreating is more difficult than it should be, especially when there are a number of missions that require it, since you need to command each unit individually instead of there being a global retreat command as there is for attacking. It's also all too easy for a retreating unit to get tangled up in another fight in the process, forcing you to command them again and again...
If this all sounds like your kind of thing and you haven't given Crusaders for a spin yet, I recommend you start there. Not only is it easier and offers troop-specific tutorials, but the stories found in Heroes won't make very much sense without it. If you've already torn through the four campaigns of Crusaders and are feeling hungry for more, then Heroes will certainly satisfy your cravings for a long time to come.
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